


A Chrismukkah surprise

by redneterp



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Chrismukkah, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Sharing a Bed, these boys finally figure it out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 17:43:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17750519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redneterp/pseuds/redneterp
Summary: Justin is determined to give his BestBro the best Chrismukkah gift ever (even if he himself had never had a reason to celebrate a holiday invented by a tv show, he does know his Bro), and after months of planning in secret, the day is finally here. Will Adam be surprised? Will he enjoy the surprise? Will these boys be more than bros by the end of the day? Read on, dear reader, and all will be revealed.





	A Chrismukkah surprise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LeftWingLibrarian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeftWingLibrarian/gifts).



> Bitty's Valentines gift for LeftWingLibrarian, who asked for any of: “Fake dating, bed sharing, first kiss, friends to lovers, basically any fluffy tropes.” I think I hit 3 out of 4 of the above, and got a couple more ideas from your tumblr. I hope I guessed correctly and that you enjoy! Happy Valentines day!
> 
> Contains a very vague spoiler for a piece of media released about 7 years ago. Any more details in the tags or here would spoil the surprise, but for those who really really hate spoilers, a hint is in the end note.
> 
> And yes, this is a Chrismukkah story for a Valentine's fic exchange, for reasons that hopefully make sense in the context of the story.

“The giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Plaza?” Adam guessed. “Oooh, or the 30 Rock Tour! Wait, would that still open by the time we got to NYC? Or the observation deck?”

“No, no, and no,” Justin replied. “And those totally count as 3 guesses, so you only have two left.”

“Bro, objection!” 

“Overruled, you know the rules. It’s two questions left or game over. Those are your options.”

*

The guesses had begun as they’d left Haus 2.0 earlier that afternoon, as Adam tried unsuccessfully to identify their mystery destination. Justin had kept his plans secret for months, only to have the surprise nearly ruined by Sandeep-From-Coding the day prior. He’d joined them in the Nutrition Nook (yes, that was the actual name their employer used, there was even a distressed-wood chalkboard sign with that name overhanging the corner) during afternoon coffee break, and extended an invite to join the Coding Bros at “the sports bar with the good wings” to watch the Bruins’ game. Justin had declined, citing previously-set plans for Saturday afternoon, then was later forced to admit to Adam that he wasn’t just trying to avoid an intra-office rivalry with Coding by preventing Adam from both arguing the superiority of Buffalo wings to those from any other city and pronouncing that the Sabres would kick the Bruins’ asses, but that he really had made plans he couldn’t divulge. Justin was able to appeal to the D-Man Code to secure 24 hours free from questioning, but as they left Haus 2.0 on foot Adam insisted time was up.

“Dude, all you’ve told me is to ‘dress nice, but not formal,’ you’ve got to tell me more. You’d better not be dragging me to work on our day off.”

Justin swore they weren’t heading to the office, and eventually agreed to Twenty Questions regarding their destination. Adam had tossed out a few wildly varying suggestions as they rode the T downtown ( _Science Museum. Brewery tour. Aquarium._ ) and waited for the train at South Station ( _Going to Samwell to decorate the Haus in epic style while SMH was off on their C &C roadtrip weekend_). He pulled out the puppy-dog eyes as they settled into their seats on the train, begging Justin for some scrap of information, and Justin relented to admit “Fine, I can tell you that this is an early Chrismukkah gift since we won’t be together on the 24th.” 

After a soliloquy on the importance of the character of Seth Cohen to young-Adam that earned them a glare from the woman seated across from them, the hint led Adam to speculate about Christmas or Hanukkah-related events along the Northeast corridor, ending with the trio of Rockefeller-related guesses.

With the final-questions warning, Adam turned to the window, apparently deep in thought trying to make his final guesses count. The last of the golden-yellow light from the sunset streamed through the window, highlighting his jaw and creating a halo around his blond hair. _Fuck_ , Justin thought, _had Holtzy always been this gorgeous?_ He spent a few minutes appreciating his best bro’s face, momentarily distracting himself from worrying that Adam might not enjoy the surprise after all, as none of his guesses had been remotely correct. Had he misjudged his bro?

As the train briefly stopped at the Samwell station, Justin returned his thoughts to the present and distracted Adam with a conversation about SMH’s season to-date which carried them through until the train approached Providence Station. As they slowed to a stop he stood and grabbed Adam by the arm, tugging him off the train. 

“Providence? Are we visiting Jack?” Adam asked as they emerged from the station and headed towards the river.

“The Falcs are in Edmonton tonight. And that was number nineteen. One left.” Justin replied with a smirk before leading them across the river and through the park, following a route he’d carefully chosen on Google Maps to keep their final destination secret. In the dim gap between streetlights Justin surreptitiously patted his jacket pocket, triple-checking that the tickets were still there. They continued to banter as Justin led them through downtown, arriving at the restaurant a few minutes early, though it was already packed. The hostess confirmed their 5:45 reservation, but noted that the table wasn’t yet free before offering them a seat at the bar while they waited.

“So, this coal-fired pizza must be really good to warrant a trip from Boston.” Adam noted after they’d each ordered a beer. 

“Google says so,” Justin replied. “And was that your final question?”

“Objection, that was a statement, not a question. I reserve my right to my final question.”

“Sustained. Shitty’s taught you well.”

“Who knew that sharing a Haus with a law-student would come with so many unexpected benefits? And before you ask, that was a rhetorical question unrelated to today’s plans and still doesn’t count for the total.”

Justin laughed and nodded in agreement, before the TV behind the bar caught his attention. The station was replaying Premier League highlights from earlier in the day, and soon they were engrossed in a conversation about Chelsea’s chances for the season. They leaned close together to be heard above the din in the restaurant, and Justin felt a warmth inside, reminded of how lucky he was to have such an amazing BestBroTM. 

*

An hour later, Adam leaned back in his chair. “I’m stuffed,” he said, patting his stomach. Together they’d polished off a starter and an entire pizza. “Google was right, Rans, that was amazing.” 

“Definitely,” Justin agreed.

“I might order another beer, though. Do you want one, too?” Adam asked.

“That might not be the best idea.”

“For you, or both of us? Wait, was that a clue? Do you have something planned beyond dinner?”

“That’s three questions again, which puts you beyond twenty, so I’ll just answer the first - I meant for both of us.” Justin guessed they’d both lost their tolerance since graduating, as they’d only made it to one Kegster the whole semester, and he didn’t want to risk either of them dozing off midway through the main event. “Maybe coffee would be a better idea?”

“Are we pulling an all-nighter? And I will qualify that question with the note that I am not asking about the surprise itself, merely a health-and-safety question about appropriate beverage consumption. I am, as you know, very safety-conscious.” Adam finished, pressing his right hand over his heart.

Justin laughed. “Sure Holtzy, I believe you. And let the record note,” he continued, trying to match Adam’s serious tone, “that an exemption has been granted. No, I do not anticipate that an all-nighter will be required.”

Adam stroked his chin. “Hmm…”

Justin pulled out his phone as subtly as he could, tapping to check the time, surprised that it was already past 7pm. The time had flown by, as always, as they’d discussed everything from the prospects of their favourite teams in three different leagues to the sitcoms that Adam insisted needed to be moved to the top of their Netflix queue. “However, we do need to head out shortly, so if you do want coffee we should order it soon.”

“Are you getting one?”

“Nah, I’m fine without.” Justin replied. Checking the time had made his anxiety regarding whether Adam would actually enjoy the surprise return with a vengeance and he could already feel his leg twitching; adding caffeine to the mix would not end well.

“Then I’m good, too. Should we get the bill?” Adam asked as he reached for his wallet.

“I got it, bro. It is Chrismukkah, after all.” 

*

“Thanks, man,” Adam said, slinging his arm around Justin’s shoulder as they stepped out of the restaurant.

“Got your back, dude,” Justin confirmed, returning the gesture as he wrapped an arm around Adam’s waist and directing their path the remaining few blocks to the PPAC.

As they rounded the final corner and the lights of the marquee came into view, Justin couldn’t resist peeking out of the corner of his eye at Adam. The reflection of the lights sparkled on his glasses, behind which his eyes grew wide as they got close enough to see the crowd in line outside the doors. As they neared the end of the line and were close enough to read the stylized script, Adam stopped abruptly. 

“Once? You’re taking me to a musical?”

Justin couldn’t parse Adam’s tone, and his suddenly his heart was racing. “Is that ok? I hoped you’d like it, from the reviews it sounded like a musical rom-com so I thought you would, but I realize now I’ve never heard you sing songs from it so maybe I was wrong?”

“Dude, not wrong.” Adam turned and crushed Justin to himself in a tight hug. “I’ve only seen clips from when it won all those Tony’s, but that doesn’t mean I don’t already love it.” His voice dropped to a near-whisper in Justin’s ear, “Best Chrismukkah gift ever. Really.”

Justin let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding as he relaxed in Adam’s arms. After months of anticipation and planning and keeping this a secret (even doing all of his research in incognito mode so that his browser history and targeted ads couldn’t give things away if Adam borrowed his laptop), everything had worked out. They were at the theatre, his Best Bro was happy. It was all worth it, and the show hadn’t even started.

Adam relaxed his hold on Justin. “I can’t believe you kept this secret from me! I never would have guessed, really, even if it was Sixty Questions.”

Justin smirked and waggled his eyebrows as they joined the line of excited patrons.

*

Ten minutes later, they’d made their way inside, visited the washrooms, and found their seats.

“These are amazing seats, Rans, we’re so close to the stage! Wait, is that an actual bar on the stage?”

“Yup. Still want that beer? We can go up and grab drinks if you’d like.”

“Tempting, but I don’t want to forget a second of this. Did you know I’ve only seen one live musical before, not counting my sisters’ school productions, which do not count.”

“I might have heard something about the life-changing experience of seeing Rent when you were in grade 11…” Justin said with a smirk.

“Grade 11? What is this foreign language I hear? I was a junior, and …” Adam’s argument trailed off as one person after another wandered to centre-stage holding instruments and beginning to play. “Wha...?”

Justin nodded. “Pre-show music, that’s why I may have rushed to get us here.”

“How did you know about this?”

“Dude, how dare you doubt my research abilities!”

“Apologies. You are now, and forevermore, the king of research and spreadsheets,” Adam acknowledged with a head bow and hand flourish, before turning to watch the pub party breaking out on-stage. Musicians congregated amidst the crowds hovering around the bar, dancing and playing folk tunes. Adam watched, a giant grin on his face. “I’ve heard there’s no orchestra, all the music is played on-stage by the cast. Can you imagine?”

“Yeah!” Justin nodded. Adam’s enthusiasm was infectious.

After several rousing songs, the lights dimmed, and the audience returned to their seats. Soon the stage was dark, with the light focused on a single musician strumming his guitar. The show had begun.

Throughout the first act, Justin felt his attention split between the amazing performance on stage and Adam’s reactions. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Adam tapped his feet along with the performers dancing on tables, laughed along with their jokes, or wiped a tear away as the Girl sang a wistful solo alone at the piano. As the lights rose again at intermission, Justin turned to see Adam staring at the stage, still mesmerized after the whole cast of musicians had joined a group song-and-dance number at the pub. “So? Enjoying the show so far?”

Adam took a deep breath, as if his pulling his soul to rejoin his body, before turning to Justin. “Enjoying it? Rans, there are not enough words to express how I feel about the power of music to stir human emotion.”

“That good, eh?”

“Good enough that I won’t mock you for saying ‘eh.’” 

“How about the power of cookies?” Justin asked as he recognized the smell of baked goods wafting through the theatre. “The internet says that getting a chocolate chip cookie during intermission here is, like, required.”

Adam lauged, “Well, if it’s a requirement. We can’t let the internet down, after all.”

“Never!” Justin agreed.

*

An hour and a bit later, after the auditorium had erupted in applause and the cast took their final bows, Justin sat in silence, staring at the stage. Was that how it ended, no magical reconnection but a bittersweet parting? He couldn’t explain it to himself, but it felt like a personal loss. A loud sniff to his left caught his attention, and he turned in time to see Adam wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his button-down. Justin dug the cookie-napkin from his pocket and passed it over so that Adam could blow his nose properly. 

“Thank you, Rans.”

“No problem.”

“No, man. Not for the napkin, or, well, not just for that, but for all of this,” Adam waved his hand about. “Dinner. The show. Everything. This was one of the best nights of my life, Justin.” Adam fixed him with an intense look that Justin couldn’t interpret before reaching to grab his hand in a firm grasp.

“You’re welcome … got your back … always.” Justin squeezed Adam’s hand back, hoping it would express some of the feeling that he couldn’t put into words.

They sat like that for a few beats before Adam pulled back. “I could sit here forever, but I guess the ushers wouldn’t appreciate that.” He looked around, just noticing that most of the audience in their section had already cleared out. “Wait, do we need to get to the station? Isn’t the last train soon?”

“It leaves in five minutes,” Justin replied. “But I didn’t want to rush you, so Jack said we could spend the night at his place.”

“Bro, you’re the best,” Adam said, leaning over the armrest to rest his head on Justin’s shoulder for a minute longer, before they stood and un-pretzeled themselves from the tiny seats. “Dude, these seats were not made for D-men. Were people in 1920-whatever a lot shorter?”

Mood lightened, they shrugged into their jackets and left the theatre. The temperature had dropped to just above freezing, but both preferred to walk, so they tucked their hands in their pockets and headed towards Jack’s building. They were quieter than their usual, rarely speaking but occasionally bumping shoulders or elbows, each lost in thought. 

*

Justin was glad to see DeShawn was the doorman on duty when they arrived, as he’d met them often and was unlikely to create a fuss about non-residents asking for admittance. Sure enough, he greeted them warmly and handed over the keyfob Jack had left at the desk in Justin’s name. They rode the elevator in silence, and let themselves into Jack’s apartment, before dropping their shoes and jackets in the hallway closet. 

“Do you want anything to eat?” Justin asked, waving a note he’d found on the pool table. “Jack says there are muffins and mini-pies from Bitty in the freezer, and to help ourselves.”

“I’m good, thanks, maybe in the morning?” Adam said. “But go ahead if you’re hungry.”

“Nah, man, I’m still full of pizza. What happened to us? Less than a year away from competitive hockey and our stomachs must have shrunk, now that we aren’t burning thousands of calories a day skating.”

Adam rolled his eyes and let out a half-hearted laugh.

“Are you tired, bro? I stashed some of our stuff here last time,” Justin said, as he led the way into the guest room, dug the duffle bag out of the closet, and dropped it on the bed. He pulled out a bundle of his clothes and toiletries and passed the rest of the bag to Adam.

Adam dug through the bag. “My old Bruins shirt, I wondered where I’d left that.” He then pulled out the small bag of toiletries. “You even packed my spare contact case? Bro!”

“Excel said there was a 30% chance you’d wear contacts today, so ..” Justin shrugged, “Got your back.”

“You always do. And I’ve got yours. Always,” Adam said, quiet and intense. It sounded like a vow, Justin thought, before Adam broke their fixed look with a shake of his head, and turned to the bathroom. 

Moments later, Justin returned to drop his clothes on the guest room chair, and found Adam was already settled against the pillows, glasses propped on the bedside table. Justin hovered at the foot of the bed, suddenly uncertain. He realized then that as he’d planned this weekend, without making a conscious decision he’d visualized the two of them sharing the guest bed, but was that ok to want? To ask for?

Adam interrupted before his thoughts could spiral, “Dude, get in here.”

“Is that ok, bro? I could crash on the couch.”

“How many times did we share the bottom bunk when the Haus ghosts interrupted your dreams? I think there’s room in a Queen bed for us both, comfortably. But you’re getting the lights.You know the rules, you’re the last one standing.”

“Ghosts aren’t real!” Justin shot back automatically, yet he still moved as fast as he could across the dark floor to hop into the warm bed. He shuffled, determining the most comfortable spot on a new mattress as he listened to Adam’s steady breathing next to him. It felt so good to share a room again, as if a piece of himself that was missing slotted back into place. This was home, he realized, and he didn’t ever want to leave or grow apart. But what if they did, he thought. Isn’t that what happens to college friends, they eventually grow apart? Unbidden, a lyric from the show came to mind “ _you’ll be just a man, once I used to know..._ ” and he knew he didn’t want that to be true. He didn’t need to run the pros and cons or compile spreadsheets, it was an immutable fact. He wanted to spend the rest of his life right here, Ransom-and-Holster, together. Before he could get lost in questioning what to say, Justin took the plunge, turning on his side.

“Holtzy … Adam? I’ve gotta say something.” He reached out, tentatively reaching out until his fingers hit what felt like Adam’s elbow. He took a deep breath and continued, “You’re the most important person in my life, and I think you always will be. I don’t want us to grow apart, or for you to be that guy I once knew that I tell stories about. You’re my person. Wait, is that a line from one of your shows? Nevermind, don’t answer that, because if I stop I might not be able to say what I need to say, and that is that I love you. Like, I am in love with you. And I may have only just realized that, but it’s the absolute truth.” In the faint glow created by the lights from the city below he could see Adam’s eyes widening as Justin spoke, mouth gaping like a fish. “Is that okay? Did I just ruin everything?”

“No!” Adam flipped towards him, clutching onto Justin’s sleeve. “You didn’t ruin anything. Did - do - do you really mean that?”

Justin nodded, tilting his head closer, “I really do.”

“Because I’ve been in love with you forever, but I didn’t think you would ever feel that way, so I kept it to myself.” Adam shrugged, causing his arm to move under Justin’s hand.

“I’m sorry I kept you waiting. But I’m here now,” Justin added, trailing his fingertips up Adam’s arm until he reached his jaw. Their faces were only centimetres apart now. He slid his hand further along the side of Adam’s head, thumb stroking his cheek. “Can I?”

Adam bridged the remaining gap between them, pressing their lips together in a soft kiss. One kiss became another as they melted into one another, Adam’s arm reaching across Justin’s back to pull him close. Soft and sweet became deep and passionate before ebbing back again like a tide. _This feels right_ , Justin thought, pulling back just enough so they could look at one another again in the dim light. His hands cradled Adam’s face, thumbs brushing against the stubble on his jaw as he felt the warmth of his cheeks and wondered if Adam’s face looked as flushed as it felt. That was an appealing thought, Justin realized, as he dipped forward again to plant a soft kiss on one cheek. “Ok?”

“So very ok,” Adam confirmed as he shifted onto his back, tugging Justin with him. 

Justin happily snuggled into place, his nose pressed against Adam’s neck with Adam’s arm warm across his back. _I’m home_ , was his last thought as he drifted into a peaceful sleep.

**

**Author's Note:**

> Vague-spoiler alert: The boys see the musical Once, and the plot is discussed briefly/vaguely in the text of the fic.
> 
> *  
> I'm on [tumblr](https://redneterp.tumblr.com/) (and pillowfort).
> 
> Kudos/comments always appreciated!


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